Mental struggles in sports? Yeah, it’s not exactly breaking news. But for the longest time, gymnasts barely talked about it—at least, not out loud. That changed in 2021 when Simone Biles hit pause, withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics, didn’t care about the naysayers and critics, and basically changed the narrative surrounding mental health in the world of sports. Since then, more gymnasts have spoken up. But admitting the struggle is one thing—actually getting through it without falling apart? That’s a whole different game. And if anyone has mastered that game, it’s Jordan Chiles. You might ask how?

Chiles has been flipping and twisting since she was six, falling in love with gymnastics as a wild little kid. But things got rough early in her career when she started training under a coach she only refers to as Coach X in her new memoir, for the launch of which she joined Good Morning America.  Suffice it to say that, you wouldn’t want a coach like Coach X. Instead of building her up, this coach tore her down! Piece by piece! Criticizing everything from her race to her body to her eating habits. Oh, and Coach X was also struggling with alcoholism, which, unsurprisingly, made everything worse. The budding gymnast had to pay quite a hefty price, thanks to such coaching.

The constant pressure messed with Chiles in ways she didn’t fully understand at the time. She was never officially diagnosed with an eating disorder, but she had an unhealthy relationship with food. Early in her gymnastics career, she was body-shamed into believing she wasn’t fit enough, despite having almost no body fat and rock-solid abs. She was weighed constantly! Then her coach told her what she could and couldn’t eat, and even pressured her to survive on as little as 800 calories a day if she wanted to be an Olympian. Clear-based soups? Acceptable. The foods she enjoyed? Off-limits. Over time, her relationship with food got worse.

Every meal felt like a test, to the point where even something as simple as a burger or ice cream triggered guilt.  And in doing so, she’d restrict herself to stay in Coach X’s good graces, then binge-eat in secret when no one was watching. And the emotional toll? Brutal. In I’m That Girl: Living the Power of My Dreams (out March 4), she opens up about hitting rock bottom—including battling suicidal thoughts just because of Coach X. But looking back now, the 23-year-old has some perspective.

“Every woman goes through a lot, whether it’s mental health or physical struggles, and understanding our trauma can make us stronger,” she said. But back then, she was a lot younger and just trying to survive. Then came Simone Biles. The GOAT and Chiles’ best friend saw what was happening and weren’t about to let it slide. Her advice? Get out of there. So Chiles packed her bags and moved to Texas to train at the World Champions Centre, owned by Biles’ family, under Cecile and Laurent Landi. That decision changed everything.

With real support and a much healthier environment, the Oregon native found her footing again—both in gymnastics and in life. And now? Everything seemed back on track—until her Olympic bronze medal was stripped away.

Jordan Chiles’ Olympic bronze controversy is still up in the air

Last August at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Jordan Chiles thought she had her moment. She crushed her floor routine in the individual event. But when her score came in, it wasn’t enough for the podium. Then came her coach, Cecile Landi, who challenged the score. After review, the judges bumped Chiles by a tenth of a point, securing her the bronze and knocking Romania’s Ana Barbosu to fourth. It was official—until it wasn’t.

A few days later, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation claimed Landi’s inquiry was filed four seconds too late. The case went to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. And in a decision that blindsided the 23-year-old, the International Olympic Committee sided with Romania, stripping her of the bronze and handing it to Barbosu. But Jordan Chiles was never the one to give up.

Seven months after losing the Olympic bronze, the gymnast continues her pursuit of recovering her title. The legal team representing USA Gymnastics maintains their appeal in Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court through the Netflix footage shown in Simone Biles’ Rising documentary series. But not done fighting. “I’m going to continue to fight and understand that I can only control what I can do with myself.” But what if all this effort goes to waste and the medal never returns to her?

She’s making peace with that too. “I can’t control what happens at the end of the day, I just know what’s right with me — and going to continue to look forward.” No matter how it ends, Chiles is proving that her fight goes far beyond a medal—it’s about standing up for what’s right and refusing to let anyone rewrite her story.